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It’s been a busy week and a half! National radio interviews, live radio and TV spots and a the chance to check out the new flagship Indigo “Cultural Department Store” at CF Sherway gardens. Batch hit the #2 (all books!) spot on Amazon.ca for a good chunk of the weekend…second only to the new Harry Potter! We’re doing pretty great on Amazon.com as well. Besides online we keep hearing from people and getting tagged in photos of it in all different types of stores and in your hands!

On that note. We have a couple of new pages in the menu under #BatchCookbook (we really want you to remember that hashtag so you can show us what you’re making all summer when you post on social media!It’s also a good spot to see some behind the scenes day to day of what we’re up to! ).

The Batch Calendar: this is where you’ll find all the places we are going to be. We’ll update when we add more and check the links because you’ll find the recordings and videos of past interviews

Where to find Batch! is a listing of stores that we know are carrying #BatchCookbook (with a map!) if you notice one missing let us know via email or social media ( hello at wellpreserved dot ca )

Batch Press – we’re still working on this one, it’s very incomplete at the moment but we’re trying to round up all the great articles and blog posts that have been written. Again, if you’ve written one, send us a link to the email above. Thank you!

We’re having so much fun! Looking forward to hopefully meeting and seeing a lot of you this summer or checking out the preserving you’re doing!

If you’re in Toronto this coming Monday, we’re throwing a bash to celebrate at The Drake Hotel. Type Books will be there selling copies of Batch that we will be happy to sign. The Drake kitchen is cooking up some of the recipes for sampling. We’re creating a special cocktail collaboration with Proof Whiskey that will include a seasonal preserve, and our friends The Rolling Pin are coming with tasty sweets (It’s Joel’s birthday on Tuesday so we are double celebrating).

I went to a funeral today. The Gentleman was a former colleague, someone I respected a whole tonne, had a lot of great memories but also someone I hadn’t seen in a few years. It was remarkably sad but it was the kind of sadness you feel for his family and those who were closer than yourself. It wouldn’t be fair to insert yourself into the drama and, therefore, it’s easier to move to the celebration of his memory and your shared experiences than those who were so much closer.

He was a great guy and I have fantastic memories of him.

But this post isn’t about him. It’s about a small family food-related tradition when it comes to grief. I remember attending my first funeral as a child and my Father handing me two packs of Life Savers. He looked me in the eye and said, “These things are easier when you have something to suck on.” I don’t know where he picked up that tradition but it’s one he still abides – and one that I’ve taken on.

I didn’t have any candy with me this morning (he wasn’t brand loyal); but I’ll pick up a pack or two of hard candy in the next few days and find a place to quietly reflect on the past. I almost never eat hard candy (I prefer salt and savory) but this tradition runs deep within my family and my spirit.

It amazes me how deeply rooted food os within our psychological makeup and mental health (good and bad). And I thought it might be worth sharing – “Life sucks a little less when you have something to suck on.”

This should be the easiest step of all if you’ve spent your time on planning. The key is to know what you have to do off the top of your head so that you can install without needing to check your instructions. The adhesive and grout dry moderately fast so you’ll want to execute without delay.

Make sure to check the instructions on the items you’ve purchased (there’s a list of required items on yesterday’s post about planning) and read the instructions on each as different tiles/ grout may have different requirements.

Day 1 – Apply Tiles

Clear your counter entirely (you’ll be able to use it again in a few hours; just clear it to work on it).

Wash your wall.

I know that the proper procedure is to start from the center of your project. I was running a narrow space and knew that my tiles were exactly 6 feet wide – as was the width of my counter. I started from one side and was satisfied with the results – it starts and ends exactly where I wanted it to.

Using the small trowel, put adhesive on the large trowel. The small trowel simply allows you to easily reach the adhesive that’s in the container.

Apply the adhesive using the jagged side of the trowel (around a 45 degree angle). Assuming you picked the right trowel for the depth of your tile (I asked for help), this will lay enough adhesive for your tile. Work about a square foot at a time (I used the empty box of a tile for a quick check) and make sure that there is adhesive under each piece of the tile.

Push your tile (in my case it was a 1-foot by 1-foot sheet of tiles) into the adhesive and hold for a few moments.

depending on your size of tiles, this is where you use spacers (they look like ‘plus signs’; point one end towards the wall which will leave the other pointing out so that you can easily remove it). My entire project included 12 sheets of tiles and was easy to set by hand. I made a few small mistake of which I was able to correct all but one; however I’m the only one who notices that one.

Continue until done.

Day 2 – Apply Grout

Grout is almost like sand. Start by using your small trowel to apply it to your grout trowel (it’s like a thick sponge; it spreads grout without scraping your tile).

Spread grout on your tiles with the trowel. Make sure that all of the spaces between the tiles are filled. You may need to delicately use the small trowel to help. Work 1-2 square feet at a time.

Push the grout further in and clean the tiles using a large, damp sponge. It will look like a mess at first but it will quickly clean up and look good. Get all the grout you can off the tiles as it’s far easier now than after drying.

Day 3 – Seal the Grout

Clean the tiles again with the sponge; after this step it will become really difficult to clean the tiles of any leftover grout.

Use the sponge brush to seal the grout – this will allow you to clean the tiles without washing grout away in the future.

I recently shared that I surprised Dana with a new back splash (there’s some closer pics at that link):

Before I proceed with the first of two posts on how to do a project like this, let me start with a warning: I am a novice. A newbie. I have never done anything like this before and can’t guarantee even my own results. I did ask a lot of questions, relied on the knowledge of others and learned/ used some tricks that were ideal for a beginner. Use these posts with caution – but know that I am sharing because though my experience is small, I believe in the results.

Laying tile is not complex. Here’s the general steps (they are spread out over a few days, more detail tomorrow):

Measure everything. Lots.

Buy tile, adhesive, grout and other supplies (details below).

Clean wall.

Apply adhesive, apply tile, cut tile and apply adhesive.

Let dry.

Apply grout.

Wipe with sponge.

Let dry.

Wipe with sponge to get final details off.

Seal grout.

Not a big deal really.

However, the most important step isn’t in the list above: planning. I knew that by the time I’d get adhesive on the wall that I’d have to know what the next steps were without thinking. The actual application of the tiles, grout and sealer took 3-4 hours (at most) while my planning took closer to 20.

Here’s a few of the decisions/ steps I made in planning that made this project relatively easy and are my essential tips for starting a project like this:

Measure everything 2-3 times. “Everything” includes the width and height of the space your covering as well as exact locations of outlets or anything else that may get in the way.

Calculate the square footage (the number of feet wide x the number of feet high) as well as square inches (multiply the first number by 144). You may need to convert to metric depending on the product you buy.

Use graph paper to draw the layout you’re trying to cover, including outlets and other pieces. This is critical – it allows you to ‘bring the wall’ to the store.

Head to the store, browse options but make no decisions until consulting with a pro who works there. If the person doesn’t appear to be knowledgable, move on.

Decide on a tile. Don’t choose only based on looks. This step can make a project like this super easy or beyond difficult. Here were the key decisions I made:Decision #1 – Tiles with Mesh
I opted to buy tiles that were already on a mesh background and in 1 foot square sheets. This meant that I had to lie 12 sheets (6 full, 6 partial) to cover my wall and not lay individual tiles. It was more expensive but saved hours of work and meant I had to align far fewer things so my final results would look much, much better:

Decision #2 – The size of tile
Once I knew I was using mesh, I had to decide on what tiles I liked. My ideal tile was white subway tile. Subway tiles are staggered which means that there would be a LOT of cutting involved – cutting on each end of the back splash as well as around the power outlet. Experienced people will laugh at me shying away from cutting tile but the truth is that I didn’t want subway tile badly enough to take on the increased work and research (and possibly mediocre results of a novice tile cutter) associated with the decision. So I decided on these tiny half-inch by half-inch tiles (they are made of stone and glass):

The only cutting I had to do (the power outlet as well as cutting partial sheets for the lower part of the 16 inch high back splash from the 12 inch sheets) was done with scissors – simply cutting the mesh.behind the tiles. This allowed for less custom equipment and a lighter learning curve.

Have an equipment list. I involved the person at the store who was pleased to help me choose:

The right number of tiles

The right adhesive (based on the tiles)

The right sized tile trowel (based on tiles and adhesive) – I wish I had purchased a small one to make applying the adhesive and grout to the larger trowel

Tile spacers (this determines the amount of space between tiles).. If you’re using mesh tiles like us, two notes:

These may be optional. We had a small space and were laying 12 sheets. Even though I bought spacers I found I could do this by eye.

There are different sized spacers so you’ll need to make sure yours match the space already defined on the mesh.

A large sponge

The right grout (we used pre-mixed to skip a step and ensure we had the right consistency).

Grout sealer

A sponge brush for the grout sealer.

A grout trowel (it’s like a very firm sponge instead of metal).

A last tip for today: if your tiles come in a box, keep the box handy. As the box was essentially the same size as the tile it was really handy for quick approximate measurements and far easier than holding a sheet of tile up to see how much space it would take.

Pictures don’t really do it justice. But here’s a closer look (this was before the final cleaning of the grout):

Have you ever wondered if you could tile a back-splash yourself? This was a relatively simple project, in part because of the research done in advance and a few key decisions. Come back next week for a 3-part series on how to tile your own back-splash! For those who already have done something like this, we’ll also be asking you to share your tips and/or ideas as well!

We shared our Kitchen Nightmare from yesterday. We now have a much better system for storing items in our cabinet:

If you look carefully in the image above, you’ll notice that the drain pipe goes ‘through’ the shelf on the left. Although this system is plenty sturdy, I was able to cut two of the shelf struts off without weakening the shelf.

We also cheated with the brackets – typically this system uses two brackets per ‘column’ of shelves. In our case I hung 3 brackets to support two shelves (the center bracket supports one side of both shelves). The system is plenty strong as two brackets usually support two or more shelves and our configuration means they support 1.5 each.

An unexpected benefit of this project was that we can easily store twice the things we used to – and it’s easier to access (no more avalanche of bowls!). This means that our other (scarce) storage areas also have benefited by the relocation of some of their contents.

The absolute key to this project was measuring everything carefully before leaving the house to see what our options were. We carefully measured everything and then plotted those measurements (and noted the heights of our space as well as the height of our food processor and other ‘tall’ kitchen items. THis allowed us to ‘bring the kitchen’ on our shopping trip (each square on the grid paper was two inches):

The final solution has less than 2.5 inches of ‘extra’ room – meaning there was very little margin for error.

The cost was a little high compared to building by hand though the time savings were significant. At the end of the day it cost us between $85-$100. Given that we’ve liver here for 6 years, that’s around $15 a year or less than $1.50 per month.

We have a horrible kitchen. Until last year we had a total working surface of less than 4 square feet (it was closer to 2.75). It is also carpeted (our landlord lives below the kitchen). It’s really the only downside of an otherwise amazing space and it’s one I’ve cooked in for 6 years and found ways to enjoy it. In other words, it ain’t pretty but it works.

On the surface, it doesn’t look THAT bad. The upper-left cabinets store our pantry (though none of the 700 canned goods that are stored on the other side of the room on the great wall of preserves), the upper-right includes 3 shelves for plates, cups and an entire shelf of wine glasses. The drawers on the bottom left serve their purpose: cutlery, kitchen tools and storage containers and dish cloths.

But then there’s the lower 3 doors. They are my dirty little secret:

The one on the right is our ‘favourite’:

This weekend marks the beginning (and hopefully the end) of the journey to overhaul our cupboard storage. We’ll share the final results here on the blog and some pictures in progress on our Facebook Group over the weekend.

Through the magic of the Internet you can fast forwad a day a see the results here now.

Why is the thought of eating an eyeball so difficult? I watched a friend enjoy one and he made it as safe as he could for me and shared that it essentially just tasted like meat. As I’m not a vegetarian, why balk at the offering of a different part of the animal? I often remind myself that the ‘grossest’ thing I eat is likely honey (essentially the bile of an insect) but I was raised to understand that was socially acceptable and ‘easy.’

I also know that, in all likelihood I’ve had it before – in sausage, head cheese (a favourite as a child) and pate’s or bahn mi’s (Vietnamese meat sandwiches). And that doesn’t bother me in the least. But the thought of carving it out of a socket and popping it back like an overgrown peanut just isn’t something that crosses my mind. And I couldn’t do it in October.

The evening we served the Wild Boar’s head was a very inspirational evening for me. People were actively discussing whether they’d be able to try it while they stood in line for a piece. Vegetarians and meat eaters were all discussing our odd relationship with meat and what it truly is that we choose to consume or not. The conversation was always polite, insightful and wonderfully contemplative. We were connecting with our food.

A friend asked about the eyeball and if he could try it. I was inspired by the moment and the people around us who had pushed their own comfort zone that evening. We quietly walked back to the tray while no one was around (this wasn’t a dare or ‘stunt’) and I pushed myself to dive in. I won’t go in to the detailed mechanics other than to say that it was what it was – pork. It wasn’t crunchy, brittle or hard. It was just like eating pork and if you’d put it on a sandwich without me knowing I would have never known.

But it was immensely difficult.

I gagged 3 times. I don’t remember ever gagging while eating. And the reaction was 100% psychological. It had nothing to do with taste or texture – it was all the thought of what was in my mouth. It felt partially wrong (and ironic that the alternative would have been to discard it like that would be somehow ‘better’, if not easier). There is an absolute irony that I can eat every other part of the animal without feeling I’ve somehow wronged the animal and yet this felt so foreign and challenging.

Without trying to be overly dramatic, I’m fairly certain the experience has further changed my complicated relationship with meat (this article from 2006 which shares my past as a semi-vegetarian and hunter goes into further history of the subject). The initial impact of the experience lingered for days and it’s still an experience I reflect on with some regularity. I’m not sure I’ve come to any grand conclusion on what the experience was other than to force me further to reconcile exactly what it is that I’m eating when I do decide to partake in any kind of animal harvest. It has brought me a much more complete understanding of what it is that I’m eating and what I am partaking in.

I really hope this post doesn’t sound preachy or ‘higher than thou.’ I’m certain that this isn’t an experience for everyone – I’m not even sure it’s one I will repeat. I also recognize that there are many people (and cultures) who would laugh that such a staple piece of meat could be any type of ‘experience’ at all just the same as many of us look at bacon or a Big Mac.

It was simultaneously sobering and fascinating and has really taught me a lot about what I eat and why I do it. And, for that, I am extremely thankful.

I`m hoping you`ll read the next paragraph before flicking away in disgust (as I may have years ago).

The idea of eating a pig`s head is something that is psychologically difficult for many but few ponder why they find it so difficult? It`s fascinating to me that on the `fear-factor`scale of things, a pig`s head would rank high while it`s chops or honey (the regurgitated contents of the stomach of a bee) are considered accessible meals. I hope you`ll consider reading on.

This post has no pictures. If you`re hesitant, you can `safely`read on. Tomorrows will feature pictures but they won`t and appear on the main page and will be hidden under the fold on the direct link. This article also discusses why I believe this meal is also a dish that many of my vegetarian friends are an advocate of – though they won`t partake.

The first time I saw the dish was on `St. Practice`night in 2010. This was the Monday evening before `St. Patrick`s Day`and was a neighborhood party for those working in the service industry who would not get to partake in the greenest party of the year.

The evening had started innocently enough. A highly touted oyster shucking competition went down and the entire bar were fed samples through the competition. I use the term `bar`loosely – we were assembled in a heated tent in front of Leslieville`s Ceili Cottage (also the home of our CSA and all-around awesome place). There was loud celtic music playing and free oysters encouraged many to grab an extra glass – it was a festive night.

Around 11:30 the staff erupted from the kitchen carrying trays of bread, cheese and preserves. They placed the spread on the bar, carefully leaving room for something hot as they laid down a few cutting boards in the middle of the condiments.

Within a few minutes Chef Kyle Demming (of the soon-to-be-opened Sausage Partners) entered the room (he is a lanky giant and difficult to miss with a calm serenity and projecting kindness coating him) with two full-sized pigs heads. He placed them between the condiments, jabbed his chef`s knife into one of the skulls (I`d later learn they are sliced like this as part of cleaning so there`s a natural resting place) and said, `Have at èm!` Chef then backed into a corner and watched for the next hour.

I can`t say there was an initial rush to dive in. Several people approached with curiosity and I found myself next to a Gentle Giant who was from Newfoundland. He grabbed the knife, told me to grab two pieces of bread and cheese. He grabbed the knife, hacked away and produced two open-faced sandwiches. We toasted our meal and fired it back. The gratification was instant and this is indeed one of my reasons why I believe that cooking the head is important – not only does it use the entire animal but it tastes amazing! I know describe it as extreme bacon to those who are curious.

It didn`t take long for people to start to line up. Before long, the line consisted of almost everyone in the room – with Chef in the corner. I spent most of the rest of the night in that corner, talking to Kyle. Our pig had been a small-farmed Tamworth and came from Kawartha Ecological Growers (still one of the main farmers we support). It was easy to cook – just do it slow.

The rest of these observations and reflections on cooking the entire head are from that evening as well as the two times since that night that I have cooked a head (one was a Tamworth and the other was a wild boar):

I must emphasize that it tastes phenomenal. Extreme bacon good. Without that, this would be a dish that could turn people away. I show them how to eat it, step back and let the others sell the dish. If a few people eat it, they will drag others to it. Of the people who have eaten the dish, I have never seen anyone say anything short of extraordinary things.

As people line-up for the dish,many are uncertain (almost to the point of mild fear) of what they will experience. It`s a different emotion than one gets from eating something new (i.e. Alligator or Camel) for the first time – because the people in line have generally eaten pork. It`s what I call the familiarity-paradox: because we know the ingredient but aren`t used to coming face-to-face with dinner, the discomfort is even more pronounced and unfamiliar.

The meal is a no-preach message about connecting to your food. You have to cut your own piece (or have a friend do it). You are connected by default of recognizing what is on that tray and what is in front of you. It`s not an easy task to do what we ask others to do for us (i.e. butchers and abattoirs). There is no denying what it is – and conversations around meat consumption, farming and our relationship to meat are simply natural. We had 3 Vegetarian friends at the last party and all were equally engaged in pleasant conversation around topics such as our lack of connection to our food.

Economics. An entire Boar`s head fed samples to more than 60 people. We went through 4 loaves of pumpernickel and two large blocks of cheese. The Boar`s head was $10 (I paid $15 for the Tamworth last October).

Use of the whole animal. To think that one of the most delicious parts of the animal goes to waste because it`s psychologically difficult is tough to accept to me. It is odd to consider that the belly of the pig is somehow an elevated ingredient compared to this.

Tradition. This ties in the last two points – dishes like these were the gourmet meals of many poor economies and cultures. Lobster was also once seen as the food of the poor while SPAM was elevated as high-class. On the journey to return to real ingredients, tying in culinary tradition and learning new dishes offers an amazing opportunity to grow as chef and diner.

Connection to other meat. Many (if not most) who eat this, will explore their connection with meat and what it really is that we eat. It’s not something that can easily be described in words but I believe it’s an important experience in a time where our connection with what is on our plates is becoming lost (Jack Kerouac named William Burroughs Naked Lunch after the concept of seeing what was on our plate for what it actually was and not just a but of meat or a carrot).

We’ll share how to cook it, serve it and eat it – without jamming it down other people’s throats…tomorrow. 🙂

Have you tried a head before? Would you? What do you think of some of the points above? Do you have any to add – or any to counter? Feel free to add to the discussion below.

I was recently surprised to find out that the ‘map of the tongue” was a myth. Shortly thereafter I was even more surprised that I ever believed in it in the first place.

The ‘legend of the tongue’ map (which claimed our tongue was broken into different sections which sensed different groups of tastes) was greeted with skepticism for some time. Place a few pieces of salt in different places of your tongue and you’ll see that you can taste it anywhere. Do the same with sugar.

Humans can detect at least 5 known types of taste:

Salt

Sweet

Bitter

Sour

Umami (the most recent detected type of taste which is described as Savory or as the taste of monosodium glutamate.

The study that many see as the ‘final nail’ in the debate around the taste map was published in 2006 (you can find the academic text here).

The ‘new’ understanding (many had used the salt and sugar debate for a long time to demonstrate the problem with the map) accepts that we may taste even more different tastes than the 5 above and that taste likely originates in receptors that are all around the tongue. There are still debates around the possibility of centralized groups which would lead to certain tastes being more sensitive in certain regions of the tongue (i.e. that our tongue has regions which specialize in certain tastes while still detecting the others) but the evidence is not conclusive.

It amazes me to think of how much we have to learn about taste – and about how many things in cooking rely on the myth of the taste map, including:

The shape of different wine glasses and how they are designed to target areas of the mouth (based on the map) with certain tastes.

The shape of different beer bottle styles for the same purpose.

The idea that we are cooking with tastes that we haven’t isolated yet and could fundamentally change recipes and pairings.

That many recipes don’t account of umami (being fairly new) – at least consciously. Chef David Kinch of Manresa (Los Gatos, CA) shared that his restaurant examines everything they cook to determine if they’ve added umami in the dish – if they haven’t, they adapt the recipe to include something. What are our recipes missing now? What will happen when we discover a 6th taste and understand how to incorporate it into our own cooking?

We’re at a dramatic time in human history. We are learning more about the human body, brain and cognitive abilities than ever before. We’re challenging old dogma and old beliefs. Our ability to share the knowledge is greater than ever before.

What will we learn that will change our cooking? What have you learned that challenged something you once believed to be true? What is left to figure out?

It amazes me that I took the tongue map so literally despite the obvious proof from my own experience. Now I just have to replace all my stemware (heh)…